Weaklings Work

Grey nothing.

That's all Kai was getting from being inside this place. He could move, but that got him nowhere. He had been in this void wind for what felt like almost an hour now. Of course he had no sense of time in a place like this, or even the whole fake world in fact. He wasn't even sure what day it was.

Loni and Karma had long grown silent. Kai assumed they had been carried off into a different direction, so now it was just him and his thoughts left alone. Though, he wasn't completely disappointed in this fact. 

He needed some time to think to himself.

'Zones, trials.'

When he first woke up in this strange foreign land, he assumed the people who took him just dropped him in a very remote place. But now with all the things Loni had said he was starting to realize there was something more to all of this. 

Pluto, this world, even the storm itself. Loni had mentioned the storm was acting as a trial, but a trial for what? What was the goal of the people who did this, and who were they?

Of course, Kai was left at a dead end again.

'I need more answers. It might be a little manipulative, but I need to keep Loni close to get some information out of her.'

Sure, Kai was a bit infatuated by the stunning girl, but it wasn't like she was the love of his life. He had goals now too, he wanted revenge for himself and his family too.

'Could it be possible Pluto had something to do with the titan that was wreaking havoc and killed Sieren?'

Of course that was a bold presumption, but then why would that man- Pluto show up at just the right time for Kai and Karma's mutation. What are the odds he was just in the neighborhood looking for newborn mutated and just so happened to stumble upon Kai when he did?

'He had to have known what was going to happen, but how?'

For an instant Kai let himself become too absorbed in his thoughts and almost got pummeled by a speeding tree branch. Fortunately, he wasn't so absorbed to the point he couldn't react.

Meeting the large branch head on, Kai grabbed it with both hands and swung himself out of its way.

His fatigue from being thrown into a massive boulder, then shortly after using his affinity, had worn off some. Kai noticed that with his new mutated constitution he was recovering at an insane speed. Not immediate, but enough to show improvement in only a couple of days.

'Wait, a branch? I didn't see any trees in the plains, just grass, dirt and some hills.'

It was odd. Kai didn't know what it meant, but thanks to the information he received from Loni he could come up with a good guess.

'Are we getting closer to the next zone?'

With that, the current pulling Kai along to the eye, suddenly disappeared.

Sending him into free fall.

Kai was very confused. He didn't scream or shout out for help, but instead remained calm and began examining his surroundings. He had learned not to panic when in fear. Had he made it to the eye? Was the storm spitting him out? But before he could even finish his thoughts, he was picked back up by the jet stream of wind.

Grey clouds still surrounded him, but now it seemed… less thick. Kai's visibility was still limited, but if before he could only see five meters around him, now he could see thirty. As Kai took in his new conditions, he noticed a figure floating in the distance.

She had long black hair that reached half way down her back, and toasted brown skin. It was Loni.

For a moment Kai was encapsulated by her beauty. That was until she turned her head and noticed him too.

"Kai! Do you know if Karma made it?"

"I haven't seen him, no. I actually just got here. Where are we, though?"

"Hmm, I see. He probably hasn't been carried this far yet, but to answer your question, it seems we've entered the second layer of the funnel."

"The secon-"

But before Kai could finish his sentence, a gust of wind collided with him. Being pushed away, he tried to set himself right in the air, and eventually succeeded. Noticing the wind had picked up tremendously, Kai yelled out to Loni:

"What the hell is this!?"

"I told you, we're in the second layer. Things are gonna get wild from here on out."

'Hell does she mean wild?'

At the same time he thought that, the chaos of the storm returned. The merciless hail descended upon him, and the furious wind started it march once again. only this time he did not have the leverage of the ground to keep himself in control.

Immediately giant pieces of debris sped past Kai. He blocked some with his arms, and dodged others, but overall he came out from the assault mostly unscathed.

Turning his head to where Loni was going through her own struggles, He noticed a huge chunk of rock coming from behind her.

'She's not gonna be able to react…'

From the position Kai was in contrast to Loni, he was underneath her. So calculating his trajectory, he planted his foot on a boulder rushing past, and used its momentum to launch himself towards her. 

Zipping through the air Kai felt like a soaring bird. Not only was he aided by the push of the boulder, but the wind also seemed to be guiding him along. Still... Kai wasn't gonna make it in time.

But he knew that of course.

So, somehow pivoting in the air, Kai managed to avoid a spearing tree branch. But before it could fully blow past him Kai grabbed on to it and let it drag him along. The speed of the maneuver was so great Kai's eyes began to water from the wind pressure. 

And as the gigantic boulder came upon Loni, fear gripped her heart. 

Was she really gonna die without getting her pay back…? Without proving him wrong? Loni's thoughts were empty.

'Mm.'

Thankfully, due to Kai's quick thinking he was able to make it just before the colossal rock made contact with the young girl's body.

"Not bad for a weakling, eh?"